#Canaan Smith-Njigba on Yankees call-out: ‘I’m not biting my tongue anymore’
“#Canaan Smith-Njigba on Yankees call-out: ‘I’m not biting my tongue anymore’”
The African-American outfielder is refusing to lay low, even as a minority in a sport of predominantly white athletes.
“Something simple that you’re with us and you have our backs,” Smith-Njigba told Sports Illustrated he would like to hear. “You gotta remember, [right fielder Aaron] Judge is black, you have [center fielder] Aaron Hicks, you had [lefty] CC Sabathia, you have [DH Giancarlo] Stanton.”
The left fielder said he has heard teammates make snide remarks, not outwardly racist ones, but stuff he would consider “borderline,” relating to the issues facing Americans now. Stuff like “Black Lives Matter is a terrorist group” or “Well, why didn’t he listen to the police?”
“You think, I’m the only [Black person] here. There’s no one to back me up,” Smith-Njigba said. “Just like all the greats did, you gotta bite your tongue. But I’m not biting my tongue anymore.”
On Thursday, fellow Yankees minor leaguer Chris Gittens, who is also black, tweeted: “Really need my team to make a statement. You have guys in your organization that needs to see that you are with us and not about the money!!! Don’t stay silent!!!!! #BLM”
Smith-Njigba, 21, quote-tweeted him and wrote, “@Yankees be with us.”
Reached by Sports Illustrated, Gittens texted: “I hope the yankees will do what’s right!!!!”
The protests started with the NBA on Wednesday and have spread to the WNBA, MLS, NHL and MLB. The Mets and Marlins refused to play on Thursday. The Yankees had an off day on Thursday and were set to begin a five-game series with a doubleheader against the Mets on Friday afternoon.
GM Brian Cashman was asked about the internal talks surrounding a plan of action on a Zoom call with fans on Thursday.
“This is a very difficult time, especially for the Black community,” he said. “We have obviously, not just players — we have coaches, we have front-officer personnel — and that community is hurting. And rightfully so. Conversations have been going on since the Floyd killing.”
Cashman noted that, given the day off, most of the Yankees weren’t at the ballpark, preventing the team from having any discussion on the topic.
“There’s a lot of discussion we’re trying to have, but to be honest, it’s a two-way street — some people don’t want to have the discussion too easily,” he said. “When it gets to the group setting, there’s some awkward silence. I think its better if its individual, it seems like. … Those conversations have been had, and they’re not as easy or free-flowing as they need to be. We respect that and understand that. It’s obviously something that going to continue, it has to continue. The platform today wasn’t the one to have everybody involved. Trust me, I believe there will be a lot of dialogue in the morning when we all gather back at the ballpark.”
For minor leaguers like Smith-Njigba and Gittens, that dialogue is important for the Yankees to have.
“It’s hard for the young guys,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s hard because you just want to go about your business and get into the league and then you’re like, O.K., now I can focus on what can I do in the community, and it’s hit that point for me. And it’s hard to look back and be like, Why haven’t I done anything up to this point?
“It’s very tough, because you’re scared. You feel like if you speak out, something’s gonna happen. If I take a knee supporting Black Lives Matter, [maybe] I’m gonna get released. I haven’t made a name for myself. Sometimes I shy away from saying what I want to say, but now I can’t keep it inside. I gotta let it out somehow. I have a voice. I have to use it. I have to use my platform. We need to do more. We can’t just keep doing the minimum. We have to take a stand.”
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